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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · firm · dip · chest · wound · root · mouse · cold

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — a box
  4. firm — a company
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. root — the cause
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — rain
  14. dip — to sink
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. root — of a word
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com